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Crew 5, aka the Copperheads was helping at Lynn’s through out the week in Rosedale. While there, we were building her a new house. The current house she lives in is starting to cave in from the hill that is right behind it. The new house meets the definition of a tiny house that is budgeted to come in at under $15k, which is more reasonable “Tiny House Hunters.” It was cool to be apart of this site to realize we do not need material possessions to have a good quality of life just shelter, bed, kitchen, and clothes.

We had many different projects to accomplish during the week. Upon our arrival the house had the outside walls up and wrapped and the inside walls studded out. The outside walls just needed the siding to be finished. We had a stack of boards to stain before we could start nailing the siding. We were able to side two of the sides during the week.

Another project was digging holes and trenches. The holes are for the deck that will be built in the coming weeks. The trench is for the waterline. While digging the trench, some of the guys on the crew were laying out some awesome beats for us to jam to.

We also had some inside projects that we helped complete. We put up the venting on the roof. We also put insulation between all the studs. A few of us also helped to build the storage loft and utility closet. We ran the plumbing and electrical wiring as well.

Overall it was a great week and we are happy to report that we did not come in contact with any snakes after being alerted that they were around the property. The crew was able to get to know each other better during all of the tasks. We got a chance to talk to Lynn and hear her story, we found out she has a phobia of large groups so we took shifts talking to her when she was outside to see our progress. Lynn grew up in the community and is living on the land that her family has owned for many years.

We are excited to get home to share more of the week and find ways to impact the Madison area with our faith that changed for the better this past week. Continue reading →

We had a lot of fun in West Virginia. My name is Ian Armstrong and the group that I was in worked on a house in the town of Clendenin we gutted the house we were working on. During one of our lunch devos a man named Andrew who was helping us on our worksite shared his story. After lunch and devos I went and talked to him and we talked about the similarities with in our lives and our stories. He then proceeded to tell me that he would put me in his prayer journal and then he prayed for me. Then through out the week we got to know each other better and work with each other a ton. It was great meeting a guy that was so open about his story and was willing to talk to me.

We have a daily routine here in which we wake up at 7am- getting ready, eat breakfast, and make our lunches for the day. At 8:10 we have a morning devotional. We are off to our worksites by 8:30. Some groups have a 30 minute drive to their sites and some have close to a hour drive. Our groups generally work until noon and then we break for lunch and a lunch time devotional. Students get the chance to lead this devotional time and it has been so sweet to see the leadership and vulnerability come out of these students evening he beginning of the week! After lunch we continue to work on our sites until around 3:30pm. Some groups shower at a community center and others back at the church we stay at. Dinner is at 6:00 and worship starts at 7:30. We have “church time” after worship in which we meet again in our groups that we work with at our work sites and have another devotional time. Today we also started sharing our stories with each other. This further increases vulnerability and fosters deeper relationships between students and leaders. Our schedule is packed and rigid. We are exhausted already, but know that God is proud of the work we are doing and that we are honoring him by the hours of labor and the busy schedule. Please pray for energy and perseverance at our worksites, pray for the leaders of the trip, next step interns, pray for the other churches that are with our group this week, pray for the people we are coming alongside and all of those people and communities that were affected by the tragic flooding that happened here a few weeks ago. Thank you for being patient with the blogging and can’t wait to update y’all soon!!

We have just finished day one at our worksites. These worksites look a little different for different groups. Two of our groups are currently working in Rosedale, the community we originally planned to serve with, doing basic construction projects. The other two groups – including ours – are spending the week doing relief work in Clendenin, a town severely affected by the recent flooding in West Virginia. The damage there is shocking to see; many residents lost everything to the flood, including their homes. The man whose home our crew was working on, Mr. Wolfe, had some interesting insight on the situation. In conversation with members of our crew, he was asked if during or after the flood he shed any tears. He responded that no, he had not, because it was the not the material things that held value in his life, but the meaning behind them. This can act as a reminder to us all that it is not material wealth that matters, but spiritual wealth.

We miss you all at our homes, please keep our Blackhawk crews, the groups from other churches, the NextStep leaders, and the residents of both Rosedale and Clendenin in your thoughts and prayers throughout the week!